Discovering the Unknown
by HMS Jones
Summary: For the LJ Inception Kink Meme. AU. Eames is a fisherman who finds a pretty merman.
1. Chapter 1

For the LJ Inception Kink Meme. Eames/Arthur AU. Eames is a fisherman who catches himself a pretty merman.

Oooooh, yeah! He had got himself a big 'un!

Sean Richard Eames, fisherman extraordinaire (in his dreams), was straining against the weight of the huge arse fish at the end of his reel, when he was doing this he definitely was not posing or flexing for the ladies (of course, it was fishing, so there were scarce few). But the thing was: he needed this fish. He was tied of every fish he tried to catch being 'the one that got away', people started questioning his talent!

He tugged harder, pulling as hard as he could, digging his heels in until with a loud wet _plop!_ a gigantic shape flew out of the water and next to Eames, who had fallen onto his arse. He stared, shocked at the form next to him. it wasn't a fish it was a MERMAID!

Eames wasn't aware he had spoken aloud until the mermaid glared with piercing brown eyes at him and said in perfect American "It's MERMAN, actually, you idiot."

Eames could feel a grin stretch its way over his face as he stared at the merman – he was hot! Well, if you ignored the navy and grey _pinstriped_ fish tail. He could just imagine his mouth closing over one of those dusky pink nipples until they were little red peaks, sucking and biting.

He subtly edged closer.

"So, er..." Eames paused and looked hopefully at the merman – he could be an ARIEL!

"Arthur." The merman interjected, wary, rolling his eyes at the fisherman's disappointed expression.

"Arthur? Really?" at the merman's expression he quickly hurried along "Is there any way you can gain human form?"

He reached forward, and ran a hand over the blue tail next to him. It was warm and wet, and although obviously a fish tail, it didn't feel like other fish tails and when Eames picked up his hand, it glittered slightly. Arthur looked mulish and slightly embarrassed when Eames marvelled over it.

"Yes." Arthur said, warily. "Why?"

Eames grinned even harder "Could you, change for me?"

Eames was ecstatic; the merman had a wonderful sculpted face, finely chiselled abs and beautiful graceful limbs. He would bet his arse would be a work of art.

However it was the perfect state of the merman that confused him. Where had his hook caught him? Eames searched and found it in the merman's perfectly gelled hair. Where did he get gel from? His expression must have shown his shock because Arthur glared, self consciously pulling it out and hissing "do you know how hard it is to keep your hair organised underwater?"

Eames just stared until Arthur sighed and, closing his eyes to concentrate, he melted from fish to man. Eames gaped as he newly made man stood unstably and strode to a few metres until he tripped a little and feel into Eames.

The fisherman grinned at the sensation of the merman's naked body next to his. He took off his shirt and draped it over the lithe limber form. It fell to mid thigh on him. Eames was delighted as he did up the buttons for the confused staring merman.

"Here" he said, not at all lecherously stroking his thighs or ogling his pert round arse (he was right, it was awe inspiring!) "You must be hungry, I'll take you to my house and take care of you."

The merman nodded hesitantly, and Eames grinned.

Oh yeah, he'd take care of the merman ..._in his bed!_


	2. Chapter 2

Cobb darted up in the water, his piercing blue eyes staring out into the murky water. There was something in the currents, something in the waving movements of the seaweed, a message a warning that something bad was happening right now! His instincts hadn't been swayed this seriously since he had discovered his wife's love of the Dry World and her thoughts that if she killed herself nothing she would be reborn there. Something was wrong! Arthur!

Cobb darted away his slivery blue tail flashing in lighted streaks behind him, muscled and powerful. Banishing the thoughts of his blue-as-the-sea-herself eyed wife with thoughts of his best friend and brother in all but blood being attacked, caught or worse! He could be being... _molested!_ Molested by some heavy handed human who was attracted to the novelty of a half man half fish who was as attractive as Arthur.

At the thought of this travesty there was no doubt that the blonde haired merman sped up in the water.

When he finally reached the shore, he flopped for a bit, never able to make the graceful transition from water to land or land to water in the careless ease that others (including Arthur, who was the master at managing the gravity shifts) could. Spluttering for a bit, he stood, naked like a human babe, and started walking to the nearest town. Not noticing the brown haired girl sketching mazes on a rock down the beach, who rose, a star struck look in her eye, to follow him.

The blonde haired man had one thought on his mind, a common state for Dominic Cobb who got so involved with one problem or situation all else fell into a blurry state of unimportance, and that one thought was Arthur. He carried on into town, not bothered by the startled gasps of housewives and playing children as he grabbed clothes from the washing line of a deserted family because he was too far away from the centre of town for there to be anybody about. They were a little bit damp but wetness was hardly something that bothered the merman as he changed into them.

Walking further into town, wincing as he bruised his bare dusty feet on the rocks, he listened for whispers of anybody of Arthur's description. He knew he had come to the right place when he had the scandalous gossip of a housewife of a barely dressed man being led back into town by their worst fisherman, an English guy called Eames.

A MAN! He was right – ARTHUR WAS BEING MOLESTED!

He stormed to the door being glanced at by those annoying women and it burst open from the force of his kick. He strode in, ignoring the startled pretty boy who looked like he had just got out of the shower (_out of the shower!) _and thrusting himself past him to where he assumed the bedroom was._trode in, ignoring the startled pretty boy who looked like he had just got out of the shower (n English guy called _ And just as he thought, there was Arthur, curled up in the adorable fashion he always did, that sweet small smile curving his lips, his naked _(NAKED!) _shoulders were showing above the sheets!

Dominic Cobb, self proclaimed protector of Arthur (who really was too naive to do it himself) and his innocence, was going to kill human pretty boy man named Eames!


	3. Chapter 3

For the LJ Inception Kink Meme. Eames/Arthur AU. Eames is a fisherman who catches himself a pretty merman.

Chapter 3

It could be said that both Sean Eames and Ariadne Miller were in the same position. Of course, others, such as Eames would claim that they weren't as Eames had managed to get his aquatic crush into bed wearing very little, whilst Ariadne was peeking through a gap in the curtain of Eames's house to get a better look at hers.

Of course, his entire argument lost its backing once it was discovered that he hadn't touched Arthur and had only been coming out of the shower because Arthur had thrown a glass of wine over his head. Eames most prominent thought about that moment in time was – Bloody Hell, Arthur looks hot when he's angry!

It was one of those moments in films where the character says "She likes me! She really, really likes me!" Only now it referred to a male semi aquatic humanoid creature who, in all honesty, didn't really like him all that much.

_But that wouldn't stop him!_ Eames thought as he edged closer to his prize. Neither would the over-protective, squinty, muscled male that was Dominic Cobb. Even if he was scary when he glared – and apparently become slightly unhinged after his wife's suicide, Arthur told him.

So yeah, Eames was scared. But his attraction outweighed that greatly. He smiled at the steely eyed Cobb as he wormed a foot out in front of Arthur who was passing, gracefully and sleepily in front of him (with that weird grace that wasn't just a mermaid thing, because Cobb didn't possess it, so what the hell? The boy tripped at the thought of standing earlier, now he's a ball room dancer?). The merman fell, like a tree felled by lumberjacks, on to his face. Eames stood and, with exaggerated concern, offered Arthur his hand, asking

"Oh, Love, did that little kick wake you up?"

Arthur looked up at Eames, annoyed, and in a move of pure motion, quickly slid to his feet. He then stalked up to Eames and grabbed his arm. Eames grinned flirtily and lifted his eyebrows suggestively.

"Like it rough do we?"

Cobb glared. The brown haired girl peeking through the window gasped. The shadow on the highest point of the tallest cliff face barricading one side of the little village Eames inhabited looked down upon them all, it's brown eyes knowing, wondering but disconnected.

It sees Eames offer Arthur the comfiest seat in the house, and the wondering glances to his clothed body. It sees the girl crouched outside, staring in at the fire warmed room from the cold outside. And it sees Cobb, reach out the stroke Arthurs hair, like an older brother would. It sees the intimacy, the longing and the humanity (or mermanity). And it wonders.


End file.
